Nearly every time I go abroad—especially to Europe—people remind me that most Americans do not possess passports and express wonder at our unwillingness to travel. This always stings for a few reasons, the largest of which being that I know how privileged I am to be able to travel abroad. As a child, I always imagined that international travel would forever remain out of reach; only through a bizarre and nearly inimitable set of...

If travel allows us to escape the banality of routine, it also forces us to challenge our conceptions of normal by presenting us with the new, the contradictory, the frustrating. I think that if we’re traveling well, escape will be the short-term gain, but the long-term win will be the challenge of discovery. Accessing and enjoying that challenge requires us a bit of mental preparation, however. Awkward Data Whether it’s the Ozarks in...

You’ve been dreaming about getting away… you’ve got the “away” part down, it’s the “getting” there that’s problematic. If you’re determined to fly, it’s not just the price that matters; you can improve your getaway by picking the right seat, the right itinerary, the right airports, the right airlines… but how? Here are some tips. 1. Setting Your Sites Sky-high Identifying good flight deals requires vigilant reviews of as many websites...

The South Asian country of Nepal is perhaps most notorious for its sherpas, which shepherd (usually Western) climbers through the treacherous passes and across snow-laden peaks to reach the zenith of Mt. Everest. This is but one world contained within this incredibly diverse country, however; Nepal boasts over 120 languages and 100 ethnic groups. The various cultural identities of these groups developed independently due to the hills...

Doha, the capital and largest city in the peninsular country of Qatar, draws many comparisons to its larger, flashier Gulf neighbor Dubai. To a great extent, these comparisons are valid… Both cities burst forth in a boom of construction powered by natural resource wealth. Both cities draw on Southern Asia and the Philippines as major sources of labor, creating demographic situations where foreigners outnumber citizens. Both...

If New York is the city that never sleeps, Madrid is the city that pretends to sleep but is actually always awake. When the Metro reopens at 6am every morning, it is packed with people who have transnochado—stayed out all night—in danceclubs in Chueca, cave bars underneath the expanse of Plaza Mayor, or eating churros near Plaza de Sol. They re-emerge into the light of day to head home, nap until 10am, rush off to work, and do it all...